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Esther Inglis
(1571-1624)

Esther Inglis was born in Scotland to French parents. She became famous among the English nobility for the beautiful—and incredibly tiny—handwritten books she created, like the ones displayed below.

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Esther Inglis (1571–1624) Argumenta Singulorum Capitum Geneseos.
London, 1608.

This smaller volume (MS Typ 428), commissioned by the English chancellor Sir Edward Stanhope, contains paraphrases of passages from the Biblical book of Genesis. Its dimensions are a mere 6 x 9 cm.

MS Typ 428. Bequest of Charles Sumner, 1874.

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Esther Inglis (1571–1624) Argumenta in librum Psalmorum. London, 1606.

This slightly larger volume (MS Typ 212, 11 x 15 cm), Inglis depicts herself as a skillful wielder of the pen. This was no exaggeration. She mastered hundreds of fonts: this manuscript alone contains 148 psalms, each written in its own expressive script with a different painted flower. (Yes, some of them are actually written backwards!)

MS Typ 212. Gift of Philip Hofer, 1943.

You can view the fully digitized book here. Click the link, then scroll down to the bottom of the page.

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12-Esther-Inglis-self-portrait-Argumenta-Psalmorum-detail-1606-Harvard-Library-MS-Typ-212.

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